1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of Business Process Management (“BPM”) and Workflow Management, the computer software industry, and relational database technology.
2. Description of Related Art
Most business applications run on relational databases such as Oracle DB2, or Microsoft SQL Server. Business Process Management (BPM), also known as workflow management, is a fast-evolving concept, which is adopted by organizations to formulate a process-oriented approach to completing a task. The several software solutions that implement BPM solutions work either as standalone software or in combination with other software platforms such as databases, operating systems, and third party software through use of Application Programmatic Interfaces (APIs), Common Line Interfaces (CLI), and other interfaces in an n-tier architecture. Many BPM software solutions are evolved from document, image, and email management systems—all of which revolve around the concept that when a subject matter (“document” or “file” or “email” or “record”) is created, a process controls the subject matter from start to end. Attempts to integrate database and workflow solutions have involved the loose coupling of different software platforms as custom solutions for specific business needs.